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Fournier RF4D in Red Bull Air Race! printer friendly version
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Bob Grimstead
Captain

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Location: Perth, Western Australia or West Sussex, England
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Posted Wednesday, October 31, 2007 @ 08:24 AM  

Hello Folks,

This is my one-hundredth post, so I’m looking forward to a promotion, maybe to ‘Air Vice Marshall’ like the RAF have, or perhaps ‘Colonel’ like the CAF boys?

Anyway, the point of my message is to mention that I have been greatly honoured by the Red Bull Air Race organisers, who have invited me to be one of a half-dozen display pilots supporting the Red Bull Air Race final event of the year in Perth, sunny Western Australia.

I am both excited and very scared to be flying my little Fournier in front of a crowd that is estimated to be up to 300,000, among whom will be some of the world’s best and bravest aerobatic pilots (although I reckon they’ll be far too preoccupied to bother watching me).

I shall try to display my ‘Blue Angel’ to her best advantage and show people that Rene Fournier’s magnificent design is not only efficient and manoeuvrable, but can also be beautiful and graceful when seen against a blue sky.

Unfortunately the current forecast is ‘very windy’ although they don’t yet say from which direction. That will be a challenge, but one I hope I can cope with.

You will not see me on TV, because that will only feature the actual racers – unless I do something VERY silly – and I sure hope I don’t.

With luck, I’ll be able to get somebody to film or video me, in which case I’ll get Collin to put the footage on the site.

Yours, Bob

Jorgen
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Location: Lund, Sweden
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Posted Wednesday, October 31, 2007 @ 05:24 PM  

Godspeed Bob!

Just don´t drink the stuff. There are several reports in the medical litterature on sudden cardiac events suspected of beíng linked to Taurine, the key ingredient in Red Bull.

Admittedly, most cases happened in combination with alcohol. So there shouldn´t be any risks for you...?

Take 5(b) just 4 fun/ Jörgen, SE-UDI, SE-XST

Markku
Master Sergeant

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Posted Thursday, November 1, 2007 @ 03:45 AM  

Congratulations Bob
Woul'd be nice to see some videoclips of that flight.
Markku
Bob Grimstead
Captain

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Posted Friday, November 2, 2007 @ 03:58 AM  

Thank you both for your good wishes.

Yes, I tried some RB once.... never again!

I suspect Taurine is just strong caffeine (It means Bull-stuff). I'm told the cans are marked with a caution not to drink more than two cans. I couldn't drink more than one sip.

And yes, no alcohol for me for the next couple of days...

Probably not much sleep either ;-) Bob

PS, I've got a couple of friends who will be trying to get some video footage. If it comes out OK, I'll get Collin to put it on the site. Yours, Bob

[Edit by Bob Grimstead on Friday, November 2, 2007 @ 04:00 AM]

Collin
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Posted Friday, November 2, 2007 @ 11:02 AM  

Hi Bob,

Have fun at Red Bull event. I sure you are going to the lowest powered act ever at a Red Bull show.

Fly Safe

Collin

Collin
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Posted Monday, November 5, 2007 @ 05:00 PM  

Hi,

Here is link to Bob's RED BULL Video.

http://www.cfiamerica.com/images/Red%20Bull%20Display.wmv

vpch
Private First Class

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Posted Monday, November 5, 2007 @ 05:31 PM  

Waouh! Nice video Looking for a sicksac, QUICK!

--------------------
Vinc. RF3 #13 F-BLXE

Bob Grimstead
Captain

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Posted Monday, November 5, 2007 @ 11:34 PM  

Hi Guys (and Gals?),

For those of you who are interested, that clip was filmed during the second of three displays I flew – at 0927 and 1520:30 local time on the Saturday and 1457 on the Sunday. I had a smoke wiring problem in the cockpit which distracted me so I forgot to start the camera on my first run, and on the third (the Big One) my shaky hand must have pressed the camera’s button twice, so it didn’t record.

For those who want to watch the clip knowing what the maneuvers are, here is the routine. It was a modification of my standard six-minute sequence because
a) it was very windy and
b) I didn’t allow enough extra starting height for the convective turbulence as well as the heat (30°C/86°F at ground level).
In the end, I had to curtail it at around 5:20 minutes so that I didn’t break my 500-foot legal minimum height.

The display line was aligned approximately 110/290, with a surface wind of 090/18-30 kt. Since this is the Southern Hemisphere, the wind generally BACKS and increases with height, so the 2,000-ft wind was probably around 070/40. Strong winds are always a challenge in a slow aeroplane, and an on-crowd breeze adds that little bit of extra spice! It was quite satisfying to be told later that I had stayed pretty well centered on the display area, whereas the South African champion in his Extra 300 had to keep breaking off and motoring back into wind.

Red Bull Display Sequence (into-wind start):
Loop
¼ vertical upward roll, stall turn, ¾ downward positive flick (snap) roll
Avalanche – a full positive flick/snap roll at the top(ish) of a loop
P (minimum radius) loop
30° Climb, half flick roll to inverted
Four-point Hesitation Roll
Half Cuban Eight
Reverse Half Cuban Eight
Slow Roll
Wingover
Barrel Roll
Barrel Roll
Three Quarter cloverleaves, ¼ right upward rolls on to B(Y)-axis away from crowd
Loop
Stall Turn (hammerhead)
¼ Right upward vertical roll, canopy-down humpty, ¼ left downward vertical roll
Wingover
Barrel Roll
Half Loop to inverted
Inverted gliding pass
½ roll to erect, 45-degree turn away from crowd Depart

I’ll try to get a jpeg of the sequence card for you, and maybe even some external footage of my flying. Meanwhile, I hope you all enjoy your aerobatics in our graceful old aeroplanes.

Yours, Bob

Collin
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Posted Wednesday, November 28, 2007 @ 01:57 PM  

Hi,

New video just added. Filmed by Bob's friend Mick Poole.

http://www.cfiamerica.com/Bob_Grimstead-Video.htm

SteveBeaver
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Posted Wednesday, November 28, 2007 @ 07:04 PM    YIM

That avalanche was a beauty - I don't think I have ever seen a more spectacular one! It almost looked like a tumble at the top of a loop. - Bravo Bob.
Bob Grimstead
Captain

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Posted Wednesday, November 28, 2007 @ 10:00 PM  

Thank you very much Steve,

In fact, if you see that avalanche from the side, it's not so pretty. To keep the momentum going I have to start the flick (snap) roll around 30 degrees before the loop's apex, when the airspeed drops to the correct initiation speed. Because even then she's still climbing, the speed drops off quickly and the second half of the rotation's more of a wallow, helped with full aileron. The roll stops with the airplane's nose vertically down, or at 270 degrees around the loop, so the flick roll is not symetrically disposed around the top of the loop, as it should be.

At Gap Tallard Matthew Hill ('Skyhawk 3') asked Bernard Chauverau (The original Fournier test pilot) the correct speed for flick rolls. He said to do them at 120 kph (65 knots/75 mph) and other French pilots present agreed. But remember, he was flying brand-new airplanes. We are flying creaky, forty year old ones.

Young David Perrin used to fly lovely, symmetrical avalanches (and there's a clip of one of these in the British Fournier movie 'Flying Light') but I now suspect he hit the initiation at a higher airspeed. John Taylor (aka JT, or 'Skyhawk One') warned me that David once lost his elevator trim tab doing a flick roll.

You can do a clean 360° flick (snap) on a level or slightly descending line at 65 knots / 75 mph, but with any sort of upward trajectory the roll quickly runs out of momentum.

I do the half-flick to inverted at 55 knots (65 mph) from a 30-degree climbing line, as recommended by the Skyhawks, and that works very nicely. It's the second half of the roll that slows down because of the drag. And I've tried in-flick and out-flick aileron, and unloading the elevator, but then the flick just stops instantly. Flicks to the left don't go so well for me, either.

That avalanche and the other flicks you see on the clip are the result of maybe 100 attempts over more than six months, and a great deal of long-distance e-mail tutoring from Matthew Hill, to whom I am forever grateful.

Yours, Bob.

Bob Grimstead
Captain

Gender: Male
Location: Perth, Western Australia or West Sussex, England
Registered: Dec 2006
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Posts: 2027

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Posted Thursday, March 31, 2011 @ 04:29 AM  

Here's an interesting viewpoint on the (unapproved) Fournier flick/snap roll.

Yours, Bob

--------------------
Flying and displaying Fournier RF4Ds VH-HDO and G-AWGN, building replica RF6B G-RFGB and custodian of RF6B prototype F-BPXV

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